Dawn grew up in a less-than-ideal situation, to say the least.
Her house had no electricity or running water, so she was forced
to do her homework in the dark and go days, even weeks, without
showering. She lived with parents who abused drugs.

"We would get water jugs and fill them up at the park, using the
spigots in the bathroom. And we would use that to flush the
toilet or cook with. Stuff like that," she told CNN.

At Burns, Dawn was nominated and accepted to Governor's School, a one-month summer program
in North Carolina for gifted high school juniors.

Dawn left for the program in June. She returned to Lawndale in
July to find her house empty, with an eviction notice on the
front door.

Dawn was officially homeless.

After learning she was homeless, employees at Burns helped her in
any way they could. Sheryl Kolton, a custodian and bus driver at
Burns, even let Dawn live at her house.

Dawn didn't let her situation stop her drive to be successful. As
a senior, she participated in typical high-school extracurricular
activities at Burns: band club, photography club, cross-country
and National Honor Society. She also started a program collecting
letters for active military troops and worked as a janitor at
Burns to earn extra money — all while making straight A's.

And like any other bright high school senior, she decided to go
to college.

"When I was younger, I was able to look at all the bad choices —
at the neglect, and the drug abuse, and everything that was
happening — and make a decision for myself that I was not going
to end up like my parents, living from paycheck to paycheck,"
Dawn told CNN.

Dawn applied at four North Carolina schools and her dream school,
Harvard. Earlier this year, she got an acceptance letter from the
Ivy League school.

On top of being accepted, Dawn received a full scholarship to
attend.

CNN wrote that since Dawn's story has circulated worldwide,
people have sent encouragement and money to the teen. Dawn
doesn't want the money for herself, though.

"When I get to college, I can work for what I need. And I know my
future is going to be great," she told CNN.

Dawn hopes to start an organization to help other students with
similar barriers in continuing their education.

If you would like to donate to this effort or send Dawn
well-wishes, mail them to: